Economic & Business Impact

Economic / Business Impact

NIPRA is committed to Indiana working with surrounding states to support a comprehensive Midwest passenger rail initiative. That initiative will eventually link nine states with a passenger rail network providing substantial economic benefits for Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana. It is estimated that some 4,500 full-time permanent jobs could be generated in Indiana with the completion of this nine state passenger rail network.

A 2013 Business Case Study for this corridor also sited these additional benefits:

Reduced travel times between Chicago, IL and Columbus, OH, as well as all included stops along the way.

Reduced congestion on highways for truck, auto and bus traffic.

Reduced travel costs due to competitive passenger rail fares when compared to plane and auto costs.

Another major opportunity for economic development in urban areas is around the newly operating train stations. Station traffic naturally encourages the development of nearby properties as well as new development at the station itself. For other areas who have already successfully revitalized travel by train, property values in and around the stations have increased significantly.In other intercity projects already moving ahead, station development is attracting private sector partners. Cities like Champaign, Normal, and Milwaukee are already showcasing how passenger rail stations are becoming the centerpiece for redevelopment, and this 2013 Business Case Study is estimating a joint development potential of $2.6 Billion amongst the communities along this route.

(PLEASE NOTE that the above information was calculated using anticipated passenger rail speeds of 110 and 130 mph. Our proposed route will start at 79 mph, with an anticipated future increase to the aforementioned higher speeds.)

Analysis projects that our route could:

Generate 2.1 million riders in 2020

Generate 3.3 million riders by 2040

Generate fare revenues of $116 million per year by 2020

Generate fare revenues of $190 million by 2040

Generate over $6 billion in user benefits over the thirty year life of the project

Produce a cost-benefit return of 1.7

This shows that each $1 invested in our passenger rail initiative produces $1.70 of economic return, a very acceptable result for such a major infrastructure project.

26,800 full-time jobs for 30 years or 806,000 person years of work

$700 million per year in extra household income along the route

$2.6 billion in increased joint development opportunities for the communities along the route